What depressing news to read that Lapham School will be merged out of existence.
I sent two kids through Lapham, and it was single best experience our family has had with the Madison schools.
Lapham’s K-2 format was born out of a political compromise that reopened the Depression-era school in 1989 in return for Marquette serving grades 3-5. This turned out to be an inadvertent stroke of educational genius. Separated from the sometimes baleful influence of older kids, Lapham became its own little cozy world, a safe and encouraging place for the youngest of students.
As I wrote in a 2003 column, my kids were lucky enough to have Barb Thompson as principal. She ran a tight ship, kept a watchful eye on her charges and wasn’t afraid to battle “downtown” — the school district administration — for her school.